Neural Network Hardware Update

A Technology
Review article describes Stanford's Brains in
Silicon project, which is attempting to replicate neurons in
hardware with more detail and accuracy that previous attempts.
Stanford's Neurocore chip is a 256x256 array of neurons that duplicate
several types of biological neurons found in the cortex. They
also emulate the chemical and physical properties of neurons such as
protein pores and ion channels. Neurocore chips are
combined into 4x4 grids to form NeuroGrid boards. IBM's
Blue Gene super computer took 1 hour, 20 minutes to simulate one second
of visual cortex activity. Kwabena
Boahen and other Stanford researchers hope to see a Neurogrid-based
computer perform visual cortex simulations in real time soon. For more
on hardware-based artificial neural networks, see our previousarticles.